Inside Stories – Introduction #08

Two whale sharks mirror one another in the warm India Ocean waters that fill the Gulf of Tadjoura. The coastline of this gulf in the Horn of Africa is shared between Djibouti and Somalia. Photo by Thomas Peschak | National Geographic Creative

While the individual projects supported by the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) come and go over the years, there are several relationships that we have maintained for some time and will continue to maintain for the foreseeable future. Three centres – two focusing on research and one on education – are managed directly by the SOSF, and four independent NGOs have engaged in mutually supportive partnerships with the foundation. All these organisations are dedicated to tackling, in one way or another, the huge amount of work involved in protecting the marine environment and the diverse creatures within it. Research and education are kingpins in this work and through the Shark Research Center in the USA, the D’Arros Research Centre in the Seychelles and the Shark Education Centre in South Africa, the SOSF can extend its on-the-ground reach to these countries and beyond. The NGOs Bimini Biological Field Station (also known as the Shark Lab), Cetacea Lab, the Manta Trust and Shark Spotters are carrying out long-term research and conservation work and, in terms of funding and communication, the foundation’s partnership with them, as well as with the Acoustic Tracking Array Platform (ATAP), is closer than its relationship with our individual, shorter-term projects. We rely heavily on our partners’ respective areas of expertise as we reach for shared conservation goals and are inspired by the passion of the individuals involved. In the following pages are accounts of the invaluable work carried out by these centres and partners.

Cover image

Two whale sharks mirror one another in the warm India Ocean waters that fill the Gulf of Tadjoura. The coastline of this gulf in the Horn of Africa is shared between Djibouti and Somalia. Photo by Thomas Peschak | National Geographic Creative